TraceHanzi

碳 meaning and stroke order

tàn

Carbon (chemistry)

HSK 7-914 strokesRadical 石
Strokes14
Pinyintàn
ToneTone 4
Frequency#3,042
Printable worksheetPractice all HSK 7-9 characters

How to write 碳, stroke by stroke

14 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14

Meaning of 碳

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

tànfourth tone (falling)
  1. carbon (chemistry)

How 碳 is built

Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mineral.

shístone+tànwood charcoal

石 gives the meaning and 炭 hints at the sound.

Radical: 石 (stone), shared by 114 characters on this site.

How to remember 碳

碳 (tàn) puts 石 (shí, stone, mineral) next to 炭 (tàn, charcoal). Think of charcoal turned into a mineral element: carbon, the stuff charcoal and diamonds are made of.

碳 is the chemistry word for the element carbon, and it shows up in science and environmental terms. You will see it most in 二氧化碳 (èryǎnghuàtàn, carbon dioxide) and 低碳 (dītàn, low-carbon). Example: 我们要过低碳生活。(Wǒmen yào guò dītàn shēnghuó.) We should live a low-carbon life.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 碳 with 炭 (tàn). Both are read tàn, but 炭 is physical charcoal for burning, as in 木炭 (mùtàn), while 碳 with the 石 side is the chemical element.

Common words with 碳

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
二氧化碳èryǎnghuàtàncarbon dioxide CO2HSK 7-9
低碳dītàn(attributive) low-carbon; low-carb (diet)HSK 7-9

碳 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

树shù木mù排pái出chū氧yǎng气qì，吸xī收shōu二èr氧yǎng化huà碳tàn。
Trees give off oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide.
汤tāng姆mǔ告gào诉sù我wǒ他tā不bù喜xǐ欢huān碳tàn酸suān饮yǐn料liào。
Tom told me he doesn't like carbonated drinks.
你nǐ对duì复fù合hé碳tàn水shuǐ化huà合hé物wù有yǒu什shén么me了liǎo解jiě吗ma？
Do you know anything about complex carbohydrates?
麦mài根gēn沙shā士shì被bèi视shì为wéi一yī种zhǒng经jīng典diǎn的de美měi式shì碳tàn酸suān饮yǐn品pǐn。
Root beer is considered a classic American carbonated soft drink.
Tom不bù知zhī道dào碳tàn和hé煤méi的de差chā别bié。
Tom does not know the difference between charcoal and carbon.

Questions about 碳

How many strokes are in 碳?

碳 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 碳 mean?

碳 (tàn) means carbon (chemistry). A common word with it is 二氧化碳 (èryǎnghuàtàn), meaning "carbon dioxide CO2".

How do you pronounce 碳?

碳 is pronounced tàn, in the fourth tone (falling).

What is the radical of 碳?

The radical of 碳 is 石, which carries the idea of "stone". Dictionaries list 碳 under this radical.

Is 碳 on the HSK exam?

Yes. 碳 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.

Does 碳 also mean carbs in food?

Carbohydrates are 碳水化合物 (tànshuǐ huàhéwù), often shortened to 碳水 (tànshuǐ) in casual talk. So 低碳 can mean a low-carb diet in a food context.

How do you say carbon neutral or carbon emissions in Chinese?

Carbon neutral is 碳中和 (tàn zhōnghé) and carbon emissions is 碳排放 (tàn páifàng). Both are common in news about climate policy.

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